EXCLUSIVECuckolded by Jeff Bezos in Hollywood's most expensive divorce, the husband Lauren Sanchez cheated on just proved revenge is something money can't buy - and his timing was perfect
As the blistering sun beats down on the tarmac at Sydney Airport, the door of a private jet swings open and out steps one of the most powerful men in Hollywood you've probably never heard of.
He likes it that way.
Dressed in a white sweater, jeans and sneakers, with a backpack slung over one shoulder, Patrick Whitesell, the millionaire co-founder of talent agency Endeavor, has a grin stretching from ear to ear.
Moments later, it's clear why he's smiling. Following behind him is his much younger Australian wife Pia Whitesell, to whom he's been married for three and a half years.
Pia, a model-turned-actress, is the picture of understated glamour in sunglasses, high-waisted white jeans and a tank top. Considered one of Australia's most beautiful women, she has called California home since the pair became engaged in late 2020 and she moved into Patrick's palatial LA mansion.
The couple head straight from the airport to Sydney Harbour, where they spend the afternoon soaking up the sun. Pia - aged 41, but with the body and complexion of a woman half her age - radiates beauty in a skimpy bikini while her husband gazes upon her adoringly.
Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell touched down in Sydney with his wife Pia on Sunday
They drove straight from the airport to Sydney Harbour, where they boarded a luxury super yacht and enjoyed a day out on the water
Pia (left) - aged 41, but with the body and complexion of a woman half her age - stripped down to her barely there swimwear for a scorching afternoon on the harbour
The duo's arrival Down Under to ring in the New Year is a far cry from the chaos that seems to follow Patrick's ex-wife and her new fiancé around. No phalanx of waiting photographers, no grand entourage - just a single paparazzo with a long lens.
In the tabloid world, Patrick remains best known as the ex-husband of Lauren Sanchez. Her affair with billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2019 resulted in one of the most expensive divorces in history - Bezos handed over $38billion to ex-wife MacKenzie - and now Lauren and Jeff are engaged to be married (although reports of a $600million wedding in Aspen last week proved unfounded).
What isn't so widely known is what Patrick did next.
While the talent agent, whose client list is a Who's Who of Hollywood, was said to have been 'blindsided' by his wife's affair, he refused to play the role of jilted cuckold.
Instead, he pulled off a masterclass in revenge, and even beat Lauren down the aisle.
And it's no small irony that while Jeff and Lauren spent their weekend hosing down rumours about their impending wedding - including the venue, date and price tag - Patrick and Pia kicked back on a yacht in Sydney's spellbindingly beautiful harbour, seemingly without a care in world.
Patrick had only just separated from Lauren when he was introduced to Pia by mutual friends in 2019. At the time, Pia was trying her luck in Hollywood following a successful stint on Australian soap opera Home and Away; Pat was also throwing himself into work to distract himself from the headlines about Lauren and Jeff.
By early 2020, the pair were photographed together for the first time on a sun-soaked holiday in Malibu. Later that year, in November, Patrick proposed with an enormous emerald-cut diamond ring, with Pia declaring herself 'the luckiest girl in the world'.
Patrick was previously married to Lauren Sanchez, who had an affair with Amazon boss Jeff Bezos circa 2018-2019. (Patrick, Lauren and Jeff are pictured in LA on December 3, 2016)
Lauren Sanchez, 55 (right) shocked the showbiz world when her secret whirlwind romance with multi-billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 60 (left) was exposed almost five years ago
And it's no small irony that while Jeff and Lauren spent their weekend hosing down rumours about their impending wedding, Patrick and Pia kicked back on a yacht in Sydney's spellbindingly beautiful harbour, seemingly without a care in the world
They didn't waste time getting married, making things official in a private ceremony held in May 2021, not long after Pia had packed up her life in the Sydney to move across the world to live with Patrick, bringing her sons from previous relationships, Isaiah, 21, and Lennox, 17, with her.
More than three years later, the Whitesells remain blissfully happy, with a source telling Daily Mail Australia, 'Pat's having the last laugh, 100 per cent.
'He's living the f****** dream with Pia and he knows it. I doubt he thinks about Lauren or Jeff or that whole debacle at all.'
Indeed, the 59-year-old businessman looked like a man on top of the world on Sunday as he touched down at Sydney Airport with his second wife.
For the flight from the U.S., Pia tucked a spotless white T-shirt into a pair of straight-legged white jeans, completing her look with a brown cap, Adidas sneakers and sunglasses. She also toted two designer bags from Celine, which retail for a few thousand dollars a pop - a drop in the bucket for Patrick.
After disembarking, the couple were whisked into a waiting car then set off to begin their low-key New Year's celebrations on a super yacht in Sydney Harbour, alongside a small gathering of close friends and family.
Their end-of-year send-off will certainly be a subdued affair compared to whatever headline magnets Lauren and Jeff are planning. Controversy follows Mr and (soon to be) Mrs Bezos them wherever they go - whether it be wedding rumours, scrutiny over their politics or business dealings, or snarky commentary on her racy fashion sense.
Pia declared herself 'the luckiest girl in the world' when Patrick proposed with an enormous emerald-cut diamond ring in 2020. They married a year later
Lauren and Patrick married in 2005 before welcoming a son, Evan, in 2006 and a daughter, Eleanor, in 2008.
Sources close to both Lauren and Patrick say they are incredible co-parents who are raising amazing children together. Also, the same source has said that Pia and Lauren are friends who get along very well.
Patrick was the one who introduced his first wife to the billionaire she would eventually have an affair with. While it's unclear when exactly they started seeing each other, Lauren and Jeff's romance was first exposed by the National Enquirer in January 2019 when they were both still married.
Soon after the affair made headlines, the billionaire divorced his wife of more than 25 years and the mother of his four children, Mackenzie Scott, while Lauren left Patrick.
At the time, the bombshell report from the Enquirer claimed Lauren and Jeff had been involved in an eight-month affair, which included him 'whisking his mistress off to exotic destinations on his $65million private jet, sending her raunchy messages and erotic selfies, and having secret rendezvous at palatial private estates'.
The outlet said it had tracked them 'across five states and 40,000 miles, tailing them in private jets, swanky limos, helicopter rides, romantic hikes, five-star hotel hideaways, intimate dinner dates and "quality time" in hidden love nests'.
Following the Enquirer's accusations, Jeff fired back by writing a lengthy essay to the publication's CEO, David Pecker, in which the e-commerce mogul accused the company of blackmailing him.
'Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I've decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten,' he wrote.
'[After] intimate text messages from me were published in the National Enquirer, I engaged investigators to learn how those texts were obtained, and to determine the motives for the many unusual actions taken by the Enquirer.
'We were then approached with an offer. They said they had more of my text messages and photos that they would publish if we didn't stop our investigation.'
He shared alleged emails sent to him by Enquirer staffers, in which they described the racy images they had 'obtained during their newsgathering' in detail.
'If in my position I can't stand up to this kind of extortion, how many people can?' Jeff continued.
'Of course I don't want personal photos published, but I also won't participate in their well-known practice of blackmail, political favors, political attacks, and corruption. I prefer to stand up, roll this log over, and see what crawls out,' he added.
As for how Jeff and Lauren met, Lauren's husband Patrick was apparently the first to introduce the two at an Amazon Studios party for the movie Manchester by the Sea in 2016.
Her production team was then hired to film footage for Jeff's rocket company, Blue Origin, in 2018.
'Patrick and Lauren have socialised with Jeff Bezos and his wife for a few years, because both [former] couples have houses in Seattle,' a source told Page Six after their affair was brought to light.
'Then Lauren was hired to work on one of Jeff's projects, Blue Origin, a space-launch company. She has been shooting aerial shots for Jeff.'
After four years of lavish getaways, private jet rides, dinner dates at the most sought-after restaurants in the world, designer shopping trips, yacht rides, and invites to parties amongst the top stars, Jeff and Lauren became engaged in May 2023.
It was recently reported the pair intended to have a $600million Christmas wedding in Aspen this past weekend, though the couple denied those claims and the lavish nuptials never transpired.
The 59-year-old businessman looked like a man on top of the world on Sunday as he touched down at Sydney Airport with his second wife
And as she arrived in her home country via private jet, the stunning actress appeared to be over the moon as she toted designer luggage alongside her multi-millionaire husband
Protecting his eyes from the sun with a pair of dark shades, the American businessman took his sun safety seriously as he also pulled a blue cap down low over his face
The Whitesells' end-of-year send-off will certainly be a subdued affair compared to whatever headline magnets Lauren and Jeff are planning
After disembarking, the couple were whisked into a waiting car then set off to begin their low-key New Year's celebrations in Sydney
After the story was published, Jeff took to X, formerly Twitter, to deny the claims.
He said: 'This whole thing is completely false - none of this is happening. The old adage “don’t believe everything you read” is even more true today than it ever has been.
'Now lies can get ALL the way around the world before the truth can get its pants on.
'So be careful out there folks and don’t be gullible. Will be interesting to see if all the outlets that “covered” and re-reported on this issue a correction when it comes and goes and doesn’t happen.'
Lauren re-posted her fiancé's words on her Instagram Story and wrote the words, 'Not true,' over the article about their nuptials.
Lauren's affair with the billionaire Amazon founder resulted in one of the most expensive divorces in history when Bezos handed over $38billion to ex-wife MacKenzie (together left). Lauren also left Patrick (the former couple is pictured right) in 2019 and is now engaged to Jeff
Pia Miller, widely considered one of Australia's most beautiful women, took Lauren's place to become the new Mrs Whitesell in 2021. (The Whitesells are pictured in March in Beverly Hills)
In stark contrast to Lauren and Jeff's scrutinised relationship, Patrick and Pia married in a private ceremony in May 2021 in LA, following their engagement in November 2020.
The pair enjoyed a luxury but low-ley honeymoon in Mexico shortly after their union.
Pia then made the life-changing decision to relocate from her home in Bondi to Los Angeles, where Patrick lives and works, that same September, travelling abroad with her two sons Isaiah and Lennox.
Patrick, the CEO of Hollywood talent agency WME, is worth an estimated US$440million (AU$630million). His clients include Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Michelle Williams, Idris Elba, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, John Krasinski, Jude Law, Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington.
